


The Cause to Which They Are Owing

by NarumiKaiko



Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: As found in the Ineffable Con 2 Zine, Crowley Asks Questions, Crowley Has an Angel Name, Crowley POV, Crowley the Starbuilder, Gen, God POV, One Shot that Isn't Going to Remain A One Shot, What happens when you want to read a fic so you start writing it, Yes I'm that presumptuous, and it's not Janthoniel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:00:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27103867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NarumiKaiko/pseuds/NarumiKaiko
Summary: Nuclei are not meant to have close friends— and neither are stars. Or, perhaps, starbuilders.A story about angels, God, and an Ineffable Plan.
Relationships: Crowley & God (Good Omens)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 20





	The Cause to Which They Are Owing

**Author's Note:**

> This story was first published in the Ineffable Con 2 zine, but will be expanded upon here. I'm undecided as to if this will become a multichapter or a series, so I'm posting it as a complete one-shot for now. 
> 
> Much thanks to [Anti_Kate](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anti_kate/pseuds/Anti_kate) for the beta- if you're not following along with her fic [An Ending (Ascent)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24590107/chapters/59394199), you are missing out!! 
> 
> Title is from a lovely paper by William Herschel referenced on [the Wikipedia page for Binary Stars](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binary_star#cite_note-13), "Account of the Changes That Have Happened, during the Last Twenty-Five Years, in the Relative Situation of Double-Stars; with an Investigation of the Cause to Which They Are Owing".

The angel that would someday be known as Crowley relaxes his grip, exhaling slowly as he steps back, allowing the star to rise gently from his cupped hands and drift into orbit with its mate. He hums contentedly, pleased with the gentle shimmering of paired radiation across the full electromagnetic spectrum. He thinks about the millions of stars he’s made, all so far apart— entire parsecs between even the closest ones. He thinks about his siblings, the starbuilders, and knows that the seven of them could never fill the sky tightly enough. Despite the difference in scale, the stars they work with are really no different from the atoms of which they are composed: tiny subatomic particles orbiting through vastly larger pockets of space. Nuclei are not meant to have close friends— and neither are stars. Or, perhaps, starbuilders. 

“This is lovely, Jekuthiel,” God murmurs softly, resting a warm hand on his shoulder. “One of your best yet. A binary system— your creativity never ceases to surprise me.”

“Thank you, Mother,” he responds, not turning his gaze from his work. 

“Tell me, why have you made two so close together?” 

The angel knows what is really being asked. No other starbuilder has deviated from the standard configuration: a single star to shephard each set of planets. Still, there is no scolding in Her question, no judgement.

“So they’ve always got someone, they're never alone.” 

This seems to amuse Her. “You worry for the isolation of the cosmos?”

“It is a lonely place,” he answers quietly. Solemnly.

An unmeasured stretch of time passes as they stand together, watching as the binary system completes its first full rotation. The stars settle into their routine, a _pas de deux_ that will last until the end of time, or Her mercy.

The angel did not expect a reply, and is surprised when one comes. “Here, as in all places, you are surrounded by my love, dear one. Even the smallest of stars burn with it.”

Finally turning to face Her, the angel raises his voice from the hushed whispers they’ve been using. “But is that enough?” The angel flinches, hearing the blasphemy in his words only as they are spoken. “No matter how much You expand the cosmos, the stars within it will only drift further apart— never closer. I just… didn't want them to be alone. This time.” 

Rather than look affronted God merely considers him, mouth quirking on one side. “No, I think you're right. This one does need someone to keep him company.”

They stand there in tranquil observance, soaking in the spectral warmth of the system that will one day be called Alpha Centauri.

~*~

Entire galaxies are created, planets formed and then shattered to make asteroids, dust clouds coalesced from endless swaths of raw material. Time has no meaning yet, but it passes nevertheless. She watches over Her starbuilders, pleased with their progress in populating this void. Never interfering but always there to guide, to reach out and help stabilize wavering orbits, to encourage judicious application of neutrinos. One among them continues to surprise Her, moving quickly from binary stars to the adorning of planets with _rings_ , of all things. 

When She creates water— a beguiling substance which breaks all of Her usual rules— he is the first of Her children to notice. She watches him play with it, relishes his delighted laughter the first time he freezes it and sees it expand rather than contracting like a proper solid should. It is not long before he has sprinkled over two dozen ice planets throughout the nearest sector, and She humors him in a scavenger hunt to find them all (She does not have the heart to point out that She witnessed every moment of their creation, that She sees all things). 

He of all Her children drives Her most to practice patience, as he comes to Her with a never ending litany of questions. Why do we starbuilders always work alone? What happens when a star runs out of gas? Why are some quarks happy and some sad? What will we do once we finish filling the cosmos? What is that little blue planet I saw You working on? She laughs at his questions and thinks _Oh, I shall make a special place in my Plan for you._

~*~

A Plan is made. A planet is formed. Entire squadrons of angels are created and set to work filling in the details of this little blue world. A Garden is built, and a Principality to protect it. A War is coming, and though She cries for the suffering it will bring upon Her most favored, She plants seeds of Doubt, and watches them grow. Questions are no longer answered. Tensions rise, and angels Fall. Over six thousand years pass, before a certain nightingale sings in a certain square. And then, She smiles.

**Author's Note:**

> For those wondering, a lot of thought went into choosing Jekuthiel as Crowley's angel name (but yes some of it was purely because of "Just a J, really"). It's not just a random name I found, and it will absolutely play into the fic!
> 
> Come and join me on [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/narumikaiko)!


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